A long time ago, in a courtroom far, far away…

The cast for the latest Star Wars epic is still being thrashed out, but with George Lucas already in place, was there ever any doubt that it would be a star-studded affair?

Sure enough, stepping into the Han Solo role comes Jonathan Sumption QC (see story), a man whose skills as a litigator are said to have been honed during seven years of intensive training on the swamplands of Dagobah.

The Supreme Court judges are thought to be practising their light sabre technique in preparation as we speak.

Meanwhile, young Jedi upstart Luke Skywalker – who has already scored notable successes at hearings in the High Court and Court of Appeal, as well as managing to destroy the original Death Star with a somewhat lucky shot – will continue to be played by Alistair Wilson QC.